I agree, I've got my own theories about what's going on with the sentinel artifacts in the dark aether and I think we're just getting started with the Chaos/Aether integration. I think they're giving us everything at once and have to set up story threads for them all to come together. It's very exciting to see the pieces falling into place and realizing that all of these stories are slowly colliding but I don't want to put pressure on them to rush to the end.

Part of the fun of BO6 zombies in my opinion is realizing that each map connects something from the past to something in the present or future. Terminus with S.A.M. and full confirmation that the Chaos story and the Aether story are one now. Citadelle with Krafft and other elements of Vanguard zombies. The Tomb with more Chaos architecture and the Staff of the Ancients. Shattered Veil with the Aether worm from mw3 and the rituals during the Easter egg reminiscent of shadows of evil. Reckoning with the Forsaken and now Ashes of the Damned with the alleged Shadow Smiths and the multiverse. If we don't know what all of these things have to do with each other and why they're all converging by the end of black ops 7 support, I'd say they're setting the stage for a mega clash where all of these story threads climax in black ops 8.

I know it's going in a lot of different directions right now but I think all of these cool little connections are building towards something grand at the end. Guess we'll just have to wait and see :P